Vitafoam Nigeria Plc has recorded the most money from its operations this year, than in the last five years.
The PUNCH reported that according to the Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements for the year ended 30 September 2023, which were released on the Nigerian Exchange Limited, the foam producer earned N52.986 billion in revenue, a 14 per cent increase from N46.310 billion at the end of the same period in 2022.
The recorded revenue also exceeded the revenue for 2021, 2020, and 2019, which were N35.404bn, N23.443bn, and N22.283bn, respectively.
Despite the five-year high in revenue, the group’s earnings fell three per cent to N4.373 billion from N4.522 billion in 2022. This drop was caused by increases in cost of sales, which increased to N35.044bn from N31.365bn, as well as increases in distribution costs and administrative expenses.
Finance income climbed by 30.56 percent to N1.303 billion, while finance costs increased by 224.72 percent to N2.286 billion. Interest on loans and overdrafts was a key contributor to the increase in finance costs, rising from N454m in September 2022 to N2.002bn in September 2023.
In terms of revenue, the Board of Directors proposed a dividend of N1.951 billion, or N1.56 kobo per share, subject to approval by shareholders at the next Annual General Meeting.
The Group uses letters of credit to import materials, as of September 2023, the total value of open letters of credit was N22.48bn (2022: N13.95bn).
The company also stated that its growth into Sierra Leone has begun to generate excellent results in terms of market penetration and product adoption.
“The factory in Sierra Leone is already producing high-quality products with good margins. As part of market expansion, this subsidiary has begun exporting high-quality products to Guinea, while also strengthening collaboration with the government of Sierra Leone and other humanitarian organizations towards mass production and distribution of quality mattresses in Sierra Leone,” according to a section of the report.
Meanwhile, the value of investment in Vitafoam Sierra Leone Limited was a critical issue for the company’s auditors, PricewaterhouseCoopers.
According to the auditor’s report, “Vitafoam Sierra Leone Limited had recurring losses due to operational challenges. The Value in Use model found that the carrying amount of investment in Vitafoam Sierra Leone Limited as of September 2023 was N1.3bn. In 2022, it was N640.526m.
Vitafoam’s market capitalization on the NGX as of the end of September was N27.831 billion, a 6% rise from N26.205 billion in 2022.
Vitafoam was founded in 1962 by two industry titans, British Vita and Unilever, and debuted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 1978.
